Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/212

 152 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI bring order out of the confusion existing in Missouri. In September, 1809, while travel- ing through Tennessee on his way to Wash- ington, he committed suicide. After his death President Madison appointed General Benja- min Howard, of Kentucliy, as governor of the territory. General Howard held office imtil 1810, when he resigned to accept a brigadier generalship in the army of the United States. Howard county was named in his honor. "William Clark who was a captain in the army of the United States and the other prin- cipal in the expedition of Lewis and Clark was appointed governor and held office until the admission of Missouri into the Union. On the 4th day of June, 1812, Missouri was organized into a territory with a governor nnd general assembly. The territory had pre- viously been organized as a territory of the first or lowest class. In the territory of this class, as we have seen, the sole power was vested in the governor and judges with other officers, all of whom were appointed by the president of the United States. In other words, the people of a territory of the first class had no right of self government so far as the administration of the general affairs of the territory was concerned. This, we remem- ber, was one of the grievances of the people of Louisiana as set out in the petition pre- sented to Congress in 1805, but by the act of 1812, the territorj' was raised to the second class. Under the provisions of that act, the legislative power of the territoiy was vested in the governor, legislative council, and a bouse of representatives. The governor was to be appointed by the president of the United States. He had jiower of absolute veto over all the actions of the general assembly. The legislative council was to consist of nine members who were to hold their office for a period of five years. The members of this council were selected in the following manner: The territorial house of representatives nominated eighteen per- sons, and the president of the United States from this number selected nine members of the legislative eoimcil. The house of representa- tives consisted of members who held office for 8 term of two years and were elected by the people of the territory. The unit of represen- tation was fixed at five hundred male citizens. with a further provision that the number of representatives could not exceed twenty-five. The first hoiise of representatives under this act consisted of thirteen members. The judi- cial power of the territory was vested in the superior court, inferior courts and justices of the peace. There were three judges of the superior court whose term of office was four years and who had original and appellate ju- risdiction in civil and criminal cases. The act further provided that the territory should be represented in Congress by one territorial delegate who, according to the Constitution, had the right to speak on matters pertaining 1o the territory, but was not allowed to vote. Governor Clark, who was in office at the time of the passage of this act, issued a proc- lamation, and, on October 1, 1812, reorgan- ized the five districts in the state into five counties, known as the counties of St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau and New IIadrid. An election was ordered to be held on the 2nd Monday in November for the selection of the delegate to Congress and the members of the house of representatives. The President of the United States appointed William Clark, who was already in office as the first governor of the re-organized terri- tory'. At the election in November, 1812, Ed- ward Hempstead was elected as the first ter- ritorial delegate to Congress. Hempstead was